Twitter Reacts To Wild UFC 203

ByJosh Stillman
USATSI 9534711 168382968 lowres 1

UFC 203 emanated from the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH, tonight (Saturday, September 10, 2016). The UFC’s latest offering on pay-per-view (PPV) was headlined by the heavyweight title battle between new champion Stipe Miocic and Alistair Overeem. Fighting in his hometown, Miocic had to contend with the powerful striking of the Dutch knockout artist. What ensued was a Round of the Year contender.

What ensued was a Round of the Year contender.

Miocic survived a knockdown and a tight guillotine attempt to return to his feet. He pressured Overeem throughout the encounter, and both heavyweights landed shots that had their adversary in trouble. Overeem on several occasions turned and ran along the fence to try and create space for himself from the pursuing champion. When Miocic caught a body kick from Overeem that stumbled the challenger, he pounced into top position. From there he rained down ground and pound until the challenger was unconscious, forcing referee Marc Goddard to intervene. Miocic is now halfway to the UFC heavyweight title defense record with one.

The co-feature of the evening saw former champion Fabricio Werdum, coming off an embarrassing knockout loss to Miocic in his first title defense, try to reinsert himself in the title picture against familiar nemesis Travis Browne. Werdum dominated a strange and largely uneventful three rounds that saw Browne suffer an injured finger in the first round. What followed had many fans and pundits up in arms, as he turned away from Werdum and seemed to tell the ref that his finger was hurt. Referee Gary Copeland called the doctor in to examine the finger while Browne tried to pop it back into place.

Werdum dominated a strange and largely uneventful three rounds that saw Browne suffer an injured finger in the first round. What followed had many fans and pundits up in arms, as he turned away from Werdum and seemed to tell the ref that his finger was hurt. Referee Gary Copeland called the doctor in to examine the finger while Browne tried to pop it back into place. In the end Browne was allowed to continue.

When the dust settled and the fighters waited for the decision to be announced, a post-fight dust-up between Werdum and Browne’s corner ensued. Video footage revealed Werdum front-kicking Glendale Fight Club founder Edmond Tarverdyan before both corners were banished from the Octagon. Werdum was eventually awarded a unanimous decision.

The event also gave us the highly anticipated, but often mocked, MMA debut of former professional wrestling star Phil “CM Punk” Brooks. He faced off with Mickey Gall, a 2-0 fighter found on Dana White‘s “Lookin’ for a Fight” reality series.

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Punk charged out of his corner, looking to engage Gall on the feet immediately. But his opponent refused to oblige him, dropping for a double leg the moment Punk got within reach. From there he gradually advanced position, softened up his famous foe with ground and pound, took the back, and eventually sunk in the choke for the victory. Punk was able to defend and stave off the inevitable for a time, perhaps saving a modicum of face in what had clearly become a no-win situation.

See how Twitter reacted to the wild and strange night of fights:

https://twitter.com/FurysFightPicks/status/774822890814447616

https://twitter.com/Patrick_Wyman/status/774827597674917889

https://twitter.com/_EOW_/status/774830924999626756

https://twitter.com/Patrick_Wyman/status/774815356573462528

https://twitter.com/ZPGIFs/status/774816679545171968

https://twitter.com/Patrick_Wyman/status/774820263150039040

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https://twitter.com/SandhuMMA/status/774821650713939968

https://twitter.com/ZPGIFs/status/774809374862761984

https://twitter.com/123midnite/status/774810539968962560

https://twitter.com/ZPGIFs/status/774812950431469568

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Josh found MMA in 2009 and has been an increasingly voracious consumer of the sport ever since. He started writing in January 2016, first as a blogger and then as a writer for LowKickMMA. He produces historical list pieces, occasional news coverage, opinions, and fight analysis for LK. He also co-hosts the Daily Fantasy Knockout podcast.

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